After taking the holidays to pause, it’s time to grasp the new year. The days before and after the December celebrations offer an opportunity to evaluate what’s essential in life in preparation for the months ahead. It’s time to ease into another year — slowly. Over the holidays I thought about the health challenges faced […]
Christmas celebrations
Holiday Plans
It’s the holiday season. At our house, that means Christmas and New Year celebrations. For some of my readers, it means Hannukkah or Kwanza. The holidays will be different because I’m still recovering from hip surgery. Sadly, decorating Christmas cookies with grandchildren won’t happen this year. Definitely, there won’t be dancing! I will focus on […]
‘Helping’ with Gift Ideas
Sometimes ‘helping’ with gift ideas is effective for taking away a degree of holiday stress. I confess to dropping hints to ‘help’ my husband and son with their shopping. Although surprise gifts are fun, they can also disappoint. For some people, surprises make the best gifts as they enjoy shopping and selecting something perfect for […]
Holiday Countdown
With just two days — count them — until Christmas, it’s time for a serious holiday countdown. A quick Google search indicates that I can download an app that will give a second-by-second/minute-by-minute/ hour-by-hour countdown complete with music. I didn’t download this as I’m not feeling as frantic as in previous years when I juggled […]
December Holiday Preparations
If I’m to be ahead of the game in terms of preparations for December holidays, the time to get focused is now! At my granddaughter’s urging, I began thinking about Christmas preparations a week ago. She urged me to believe in the Christmas Elf and to start getting ready for the holidays with some decorating […]
December Holiday Anticipation
Yesterday when I picked up our granddaughter for our weekly ‘date’ after school, she was full of anticipation for Christmas. ‘It’s too early’ I said. She disagreed and then told me that one of Santa’s elves had visited their house the night before and wrapped the living room pictures in Christmas paper with big red […]
Unpacking Christmas Memories
Every day of December brings an opportunity for unpacking Christmas memories. Through this month most of us have a schedule filled with preparations, events, invitations, and celebrations of every kind. Many celebrations represent traditions that remind us of family history and link us to our culture. During the past few days, I’ve indulged in reminiscing. […]
7 Tips to Avoid the Last-Minute Christmas Crazies
It’s time for a bad case of the last-minute Christmas crazies. With only days before the 25th, many of us are moving close to panic mode. I’m at the front of the line. December has flown past and the Christmas crazies have hit me and, it seems, many around me. This happens every year. I […]